Is conversion and repentance the same thing?
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| English: Illumination of Christ before Pilate Deutsch: Jesus vor Pilatus (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
“The sinner’s prayer” (“Lord Jesus, I receive you into my heart right now …”) has the sound of a mantra that will reserve a place in heaven and secure the present services of a heavenly handyman who will fix the mess we have made of our lives—but leave the structure in essentially the same form in which He finds it.
The theologian Louis Berkhof rightly points out that in Scripture, epistrophe (conversion, or turning) is a broader term than metanoia (repentance).
The theologian Louis Berkhof rightly points out that in Scripture, epistrophe (conversion, or turning) is a broader term than metanoia (repentance).
Conversion is about change of life. Repentance is about change of mind. Accordingly, it is generally helpful to think of conversion as a larger phenomenon of which repentance is a part. Metanoia, in its turn, is a larger term than metameleia (remorse or grief—the New Testament uses only the verbal form). Remorse can lead to, but is not identical with, repentance.
Grief over sin can, but does not necessarily, lead to repentance. One kind of regret simply rethinks a failed strategy and figures a better way of attaining the same wrong goals.
A different kind of grief learns the lesson of the offense and looks to restore the relationship, making whatever changes are necessary. An important text is 2 Cor. 7:8–10.
Grief over sin can, but does not necessarily, lead to repentance. One kind of regret simply rethinks a failed strategy and figures a better way of attaining the same wrong goals.
A different kind of grief learns the lesson of the offense and looks to restore the relationship, making whatever changes are necessary. An important text is 2 Cor. 7:8–10.
Provoked by their sorrow over a painful letter from Paul, Christians in Corinth realized they had been wrong and decided to make things right. Theirs was “godly sorrow,” said Paul, because it resulted in repentance. The sorrow itself was not the repentance. Rather, grief occasioned the turnabout in the Corinthians’ attitude toward the apostle. This is the repentance that points, says Paul, to salvation.
It is not clear that with the decision for Christ a person makes a full and complete break with all that is foolish, selfish, and sinful. We embrace within ourselves the tension between the old existence (the old humanity, the “flesh,” the age that is passing away) and the new (the new humanity, the Spirit, the “new creation”). Galatians 5:17 calls this a war. Romans 8 says we groan while we wait for the resolution of the conflict (esp. v. 23).
It is not clear that with the decision for Christ a person makes a full and complete break with all that is foolish, selfish, and sinful. We embrace within ourselves the tension between the old existence (the old humanity, the “flesh,” the age that is passing away) and the new (the new humanity, the Spirit, the “new creation”). Galatians 5:17 calls this a war. Romans 8 says we groan while we wait for the resolution of the conflict (esp. v. 23).
Repentance, changing one’s mind-set, turning from a life of self-service—these are not expressions of a naive and hopeless quest for sinlessness in this life. Living between the ages, as it were, calls for a supernatural subtlety about the human heart, a softness toward the wounded and bruised in our churches, and about the patience with which God asserts His authority in the lives of us all. Champions of repentance need to go to school on this.
A decision to trust Christ necessarily involves a break with all other avenues to life. It cannot be the addition of Christ’s merit to any other. I cannot merge the pursuit of my own agenda with the pursuit of His. A Savior who won’t meddle is a phantom, and a repentance-less Gospel is not good news. I cannot marry Christ and remain married to any other. Put this way, to choose Christ is to reject all others. For He is a jealous lover.
The image of the lover is a considered one. For in the end, Paul teaches that it is the kindness of God that leads to repentance (Rom. 2:4). It is Jesus who has given of Himself to purchase and to purify His bride (Eph. 5:25–27). His love will not be denied. That is why God gets the credit when sinners repent (Acts 11:18) and believe (13:48).
A decision to trust Christ necessarily involves a break with all other avenues to life. It cannot be the addition of Christ’s merit to any other. I cannot merge the pursuit of my own agenda with the pursuit of His. A Savior who won’t meddle is a phantom, and a repentance-less Gospel is not good news. I cannot marry Christ and remain married to any other. Put this way, to choose Christ is to reject all others. For He is a jealous lover.
The image of the lover is a considered one. For in the end, Paul teaches that it is the kindness of God that leads to repentance (Rom. 2:4). It is Jesus who has given of Himself to purchase and to purify His bride (Eph. 5:25–27). His love will not be denied. That is why God gets the credit when sinners repent (Acts 11:18) and believe (13:48).
As grieved as Paul was at the thought that some of his readers may not have repented of past sins (2 Cor. 12:21), he still called these folks his beloved (12:19), and he urged them to a self-examination which took into consideration the grace of Christ and the love of God (13:5, 14). As much responsibility as Paul put on his readers to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, in the end he placed his confidence in the fact that it is God who is at work within believers to will and to obey (Phil. 2:12–13). God originates His work in us just because He loves us, and He will carry it through for the same reason.
Where the grace and kindness of God are given their due, they will bear their own good fruit. Saving faith says “I do” in the marriage service. Repentance prefaces the “I do” with “renouncing all others.” But in the end, it is God’s grace itself, says Paul, that teaches us to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age. His grace teaches us to say “No!” to ungodliness and worldly desires (Titus 2:11–12).
Where the grace and kindness of God are given their due, they will bear their own good fruit. Saving faith says “I do” in the marriage service. Repentance prefaces the “I do” with “renouncing all others.” But in the end, it is God’s grace itself, says Paul, that teaches us to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age. His grace teaches us to say “No!” to ungodliness and worldly desires (Titus 2:11–12).
